Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch 2’s new sci-fi event Starwatch throws players into an intergalactic war between the Watchers and the Infinite Empire.
Blizzard launched Overwatch 2’s first PvP/PvE hybrid event this week, titled Starwatch: Galactic Rescue. The event reintroduces a revamped version of the Horizon Lunar Colony Assault map to the game, and brings a few much-needed balance changes for heroes like Junker Queen.
Starwatch: Galactic Rescue has players join one of two warring factions: the Watchers, led by Bonebreaker Doomfist, or the defending Infinite Empire, led by Galactic Emperor Sigma. The Infinite Empire will be on defense in a new starship-themed 4CP version of the Horizon Lunar Colony map, and they will have special artillery on their side scattered throughout the facility.
The attacking Watchers will also have assistance in the form of Bonebreaker Doomfist, a CPU ally who assists his team as they try to rescue 3CH-O - an Echo variant. Both teams will be able to use the environment to their advantage, such as by shooting Gravity Implosion Barrels which create small black holes on the map. Right now, the available hero roster leans heavily in the Defenders’ favour, so the Watchers are going to have a hard time winning this war.
If you’d like to know more about the lore of this alternate sci-fi universe, a comic called Starwatch: An Echo of Hope is now available for your perusal. The comic goes into the backstory of this event, and how 3-CHO ended up being captured in the first place. A motion comic version of it is also available to watch online:
Whichever faction gathers the most number of wins by the end of Starwatch will determine the fate of the galaxy in a follow-up comic. The comic is set to be released, “after the in-game event concludes.” As for event rewards, themed Starwatch challenges also offer new cosmetics like an Asteroid Epic skin for Wrecking Ball and 50,000 XP for the Battle Pass.
A few hero balancing changes have also arrived with this update, though they mainly impact Ana and Junker Queen mains. Junker Queen’s self-healing and Jagged Blade are now much more useable in battle, with the latter increased in projectile size and the former buffed up depending on how much damage she deals by wounds. On the other hand, Ana has had her Biotic Grenade’s healing reduced from 100 to 60, which could prove fatal as most players used it for quick self-heals. You can read up on the full patch notes here.